Sunday, June 10, 2012

How to propagate African Violets:
African violets are easy to propagate by leaf cuttings. Snip a leaf near the base of the plant (so that you have a good long stem on it), and place in a dish of water. Make sure that only the stem is in the water, and the leaf stays dry. Periodically add more water as the water evaporates. It will take a few days or possibly weeks for the stem to sprout roots. Once the roots are about an inch long, plant the leaf and stem in african violet potting soil. Water occasionally. The new plants do not grow very quickly, but as long as the leaf is green and fleshy the plant is still alive. After a few weeks you will have a new plant!

How to propagate Jade plants:
Jade plants are another easy propagator. I usually go for one of two methods: leaves or stems. For leaves, I simply take a few leaves off, put them into dirt, and water occasionally (note that it can take up to 2 months for jade leaves to start sprouting roots if they are simply placed in dirt indoors). For stems, I break off a small section (usually only a few inches, but larger should work as well) and put that in the dirt and water it. Easy as pie! Not all of them will root every time (at least not for me) but each adult plant has plenty of leaves to spare.

How to divide Oxalis:
I have two great oxalis plants (a green and a red/burgundy) that I have been propagating recently for friends. I suppose more accurately I have just been dividing the plants; they are propagating themselves.

It is very simple to propagate an Oxalis: simply dig up a few of the roots (they look like little pine cones), and replant them upright in a new pot. I usually put them in with either the very tip sticking out of the dirt or just underneath the dirt (either way has worked for me). The one tricky thing is that the existing leaves will wilt off these roots (I just trim them off), but don't worry! Keep giving them water periodically, and in a few days to weeks they will sprout anew! I have been mixing green and burgundy plants together to make mixed pots.